


A Bit of This, A Bit of That

by killajokejosie



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Alternate History, Blackouts, Bottom Ryan, Boys In Love, Dwight is so damn nosy, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Homophobia, Humor, Implied/Referenced Underage Relationship(s), Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Made For Each Other, Michael Swears, Pop Culture, Problems, Protectiveness, Sarcasm, Sex, Top Jim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-12 08:13:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7927309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killajokejosie/pseuds/killajokejosie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a party one night, Jim wakes up in a bed, but not with Pam. </p><p>And, then he starts to wonder if maybe there isn't more to that.</p><p>And, then Kelly becomes a super supportive friend.</p><p>And, he can't get over those blue freaking eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Breakthrough

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of things are changed so that this is possible. The biggest being that Pam and Jim are not engaged. He hadn't gotten that far, but there was probably a good reason for him not getting that far, just saying....

When he woke up the morning after the party, the night before seemed to be almost a complete blur.

He was still so drogy from whatever happened, and he was pretty sure that he would believe just about anything. Still didn't change that he wanted to know, something, anything, about the night before.

He sat up slowly, looking at the room that he was in. At least he was certain that it wasn't his.

That was when he noticed arms around his waist. The arms didn't belong to Pam, but rather to Ryan.

Jim lifted the blankets up, just enough to see if they were wearing any clothes. Ryan still had his tie on and Jim, well, he was wearing black socks, a strange detail since he was ninety-nine percent certain that he hadn't been wearing black socks yesterday.

He gently shook Ryan awake, wanting him to be just as confused as he was. Ryan simply stared at him with big, blue eyes as if nothing was wrong. 

That was false. He needed to get to the bottom of it. Especially because he knew that Pam was going to want some sort of explanation as to why he didn't return home last night.

Ryan shuffled to the other side of the bed, struggling to separate from Jim where their skin was still sticky from sweat, and certainly, most likely other things.

Jim didn't mean to, but he looked. He admired Ryan's body, particularly his backside. He didn't know why he had enjoyed looking so much, he couldn't explain it if he tried. If he had to guess, it was because Ryan had the cutest, most pert ass he had ever seen, not including Pam's. Not that he spent a lot of time looking at everyone's butts all day, and certainly not other guy's butts. He wasn't gay or anything.

He just, he liked Ryan's ass. It was aesthetically pleasing in almost every aspect imaginable.

Ryan cracked his back, something Jim noticed more than he thought he should have. "Damn, Halpert, I think I know why Pam likes you so much, but I doubt that I will ever be able to walk normal, again."

"So, it was good, at least?" Jim asked, despite it being the last thing he should have been wondering. He hadn't decided if it would have been a bad idea to admit to the fact that he couldn't remember a thing.

Ryan crawled back onto the bed, now wearing boxers, and leaned in close, lips only an inch from Jim's. "Yeah, babe, you're good. It was good...better than good...damn..."

"You calling me babe now? The morning after?" Jim asked next doing his absolute best to appear, at least to some extent, aloof.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "I think it makes sense, considering what you said to me last night after Pam left," He concluded what he said with a deep, longing kiss.

When they parted, Jim tried to catch his breath as he searched every corner of his mind for the missing information. He was in over his head and he had been awake for less than thirty minutes.

For one thing, it was shaping up to be a very interesting day.

He played it cool, sighing into the absence of the kiss like he was sad it had to be over. He'd be lying if he said that Ryan wasn't a good kisser, anyways, and he would be lying still if he claimed he didn't like it a little.

"Where's my phone?" Jim grabbed his pants that had been on the floor beside Ryan's bed, quickly digging through his pockets.

He turned on his phone and stared at the screen. Thirty-five missed calls, only five not from Pam, and fifteen texts that were all from her. He only read the first few, but he knew that she was pissed.

"What's wrong, Jim?"

He looked at Ryan. Those unforgiving, ocean blue eyes catching him completely by surprise, even though he had seen them countless times before. There was just something mesmerizing about them.  

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ryan asked, snapping poor Jim out of his daze.

"What? Huh? How am I looking at you?"

"You are looking at me like I am something to eat,"

Jim licked his lips unintentionally. "Well, you are pretty damn delicious," His words, however, were intentional and served as more proof that he was out of his mind.

Ryan kissed him on the cheek, one hand threaded through his light brown hair and the other sliding down his stomach. That same hand wrapped around his quickly hardening cock.

Jim moaned. It felt good, it felt right, but there were still things he needed to deal with. Those missed calls and texts from Pam were on the top of that list.

"Wait...I really need to call Pam before we get back into things..."

"I thought you were going to take care of that last night?"

Ryan's words shook Jim a little. It wasn't processing completely, accompanied by immense fear of the unknown. He was battling with these strange, unfamiliar and strong feelings for Ryan and the fact that he had a girlfriend who he had previously referred to as his soul mate. And, he still couldn't remember anything that had happened to get him in this position.

"I was a little drunk, so I am really not sure if I did. I think I should call her, at least."

Ryan nodded, allowing Jim to slip away completely into the other room.

***

Jim wandered into Ryan's living room with his phone in his hand. What he encountered was more shocking that just Ryan in bed. A messed up couch, empty bottles on the coffee table, a can of whipped cream that was broken on the kitchen counter, and the wrappers of several condoms were just the beginning. Whatever had happened had been rather intense.

He stumbled over a mass of pillows and blankets on the floor, quickly realizing it was another person, Kelly. He was walking around a messed up apartment of the guy he slept with and the presumed ex girlfriend of said guy was for some reason lying on the floor. This left even more questions, as well as making him hyper aware of the fact that he was still naked. 

Kelly pulled the blanket off of her face. "Hey, Jim!"

He crouched down in the most modest way possible. "Hi Kelly, how are you?'

The Indian woman sat up. "I think that I am okay. Major headache. And, I can't get over this feeling that I might have tried to sleep with Toby at the party. What about you?"

"I really don't know, I was just about to call Pam," He explained. 

"Is that really such a good idea? I mean, when I walked in you were having some pretty wild sex in the kitchen with Ryan. There was chocolate syrup involved, not that I was watching, because I'm not that kind of girl, but yeah, there was definitely chocolate sauce involved."

"Eh, well, I still need to at least touch base with her, she called me like thirty times,"

Kelly shrugged. It was now or never.

***

He finally found a completely private place to call Pam. 

It barely had time to ring before she picked it up. " _What the hell do you want?_ "

"Uh...you called me...a lot...and texted me. I was returning your call."

" _Oh, so now you can be bothered to return my calls?!_ " Pam sighed deeply into the phone. " _Who was she? Was she good? Did...did you get it out of your system?_ "

Jim hated the sound of Pam crying, even more so when it was one hundred percent her fault. 

"I...don't remember what happened last night...I completely blacked out," He whispered. 

Pam sighed again through her tears. " _You can't be serious?! You can't! How do you not remember what you said to me?_ "

"I was that drunk, Pam. I'm being honest. I don't even remember how I got here."

The new queen of sighing made sure to add another one in for good measure. Just to be certain that Jim could hear her. " _And, where exactly are you?_ "

Jim considered how it was going to sound once he finally opened his mouth. "I'm at Ryan's,"

There was a long pause. Perhaps, she was taking time to process it. Jim really had no way of actually knowing. He also wished that there was some way of knowing what he had told her the night before because it obviously gave her enough reason to believe that he would cheat on her, something that he technically did. 

It would be rather interesting to see how Pam connected the dots.

" _You're at...you are at Ryan's?_ " She said the name like she thought it must have been a mistake. " _You are at Ryan's? That's where you went after the party last night? Oh my god!_ "

For some reason, it felt good to have it out in the open. It was better this way. He loved Pam, more than he had loved anyone before in his life, but they clearly had underlying issues that needed to be worked out. 

"I'm really sorry, I don't know what got into me. It was a mistake, a horrible mistake. It will never happen again, I promise." Jim told her, trying his best to sound reassuring.

" _I know it won't, because I am not giving you the chance to,_ " She said very simply before hanging up on him. If there was any hope that their relationship wasn't completely over, he was going to need to act fast.

The only thing that was bothering him know was the fact that he wasn't as upset about all of it as he thought he would be. 

He sat his cell phone on the nearest flat surface and turned around. Ryan was leaning against the threshold, chewing on his bottom lip. There was a slightly good chance that he had heard the whole thing. 

"Hi," Jim said nervously.

Ryan crossed his arms. "So, last night was a mistake? That would make me a mistake, and everything else that you said to me, too? All of that, all of it was a mistake?"

Jim took a deep breath. It was never his intention to upset two people in less than five minutes, although, to be fair Pam was probably already upset with him before their phone call.

"No...I mean...I don't know...I really don't want Pam to hate me forever, we work less than a foot from each other." Jim vaguely explained. 

"So, what you said was just your way of trying to diffuse the situation, then?" Ryan asked, even though it was pretty damn clear that he didn't believe it for one second. 

"Right,"

"Well, eventually, Pam is just going to have to get over the fact that you are gay. It isn't fair to her to not know." Ryan told him, offering up a peak into what was said the night before, which was rightfully a little shocking. 

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Jim muttered, replaying the words in his head over and over.

Ryan furrowed his brow. "You really don't remember what you said to me last night? Oh my goodness...oh my...god...that means that, that means that...oh my god!"

Jim placed a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. "Maybe, if you're up to it, I could make breakfast and you could refresh my memory?"

Ryan seemed to calm down a little bit, Jim was pretty sure that he even smiled. This was a good sign, because he needed to make sure that he had at least one person who wasn't angry with him over his memory lapse. Yes, that was what he was referring to it as.

"Alright, sure, what are you making?"

Jim sort of shrugged. "That depends on what I find in your refrigerator," 

"Should we offer some to Kelly?"

"Yes, but we should eat alone because I really need to figure out what is going on and I feel like she's just going to be a distraction."

"Agreed,"

 


	2. Doctor Ambiguous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: I am super tired and can barely see straight, so there is a good chance that this chapter is messed up and also maybe just doesn't make a lick of damn sense....
> 
> the next chapter will be back on track.

Ryan's fridge was surprisingly well stocked, but it also looked like everything in it was untouched, causing Jim to check the dates on a couple of things. He wasn't that worried, really, but he wanted to be one hundred percent sure that he didn't get any of them sick. That would have just made the situation worse. 

In the end, they wound up with the most gourmet non-gourmet breakfast imaginable. He constructed nutella sandwiches out of frozen waffles and topped them with fresh sliced strawberries, smothering them in syrup. He poured orange juice, and made coffee, even fried some eggs. It smelled incredible, but of course Ryan and Kelly were finding reasons to criticize him over the mish-mash of flavors he had put together.

"Unless you have actually tasted it, do you really have room to judge it?" Jim asked them both, staring into their squinted eyes.

They both shook their heads. Then Jim and Ryan went towards Ryan's bedroom where they would be able to talk in peace, and more importantly, private. Kelly was actually oddly okay with it, but that was because she thought it was some weird sex thing.

***

Upon first bite, Ryan was proven wrong. The strange combination of flavors presented by Jim had meshed perfectly somehow, and it definitely was not too sweet as he had feared.

"Okay," Jim said in between sips of the coffee he drank, hoping to get rid of his massive headache. "How do we start this conversation?"

Ryan cleared his throat. "Perhaps, we start with what you actually remember?"

"Nothing. Er, uh, I remember nothing from last night. I mean, their may be one or two fuzzy flashes of things, but other than that, nothing." Jim told him, resisting the urge to shrug, as he assumed he was only going to be allowed so many in a situation like this.

"For a second, pretend that you woke up on the couch and had no idea that we slept together, how do you feel about me? How did you feel about me before today?" Ryan asked.

Jim pondered that for a moment. That was a hard question to answer. He could lie, if he really wanted to, say that he only ever thought of Ryan as a coworker and a sometimes friend. But, he couldn't really see any use in that. That wasn't going to make things any easier.

He opted to tell the truth. And, that truth was something that he had been denying for many months now, possibly even years. That dammed feeling in the back of his mind that he always tried to silence with one excuse after another.

He took a deep breath and looked into Ryan's blue eyes again. He was pretty sure that Ryan's eyes were going to ruin this for everyone involved. The shade of blue was just pretty enough to get lost in, and just deep enough to want to swim in them forever. It was an almost soul sucking color that ultimately couldn't be described in any of the words that he could think of.

"Are you going to say anything?" Ryan asked, no longer willing to deal with the borderline awkward silence that Jim created.

"I...uh..." Jim stumbled on what he was going to actually say. "Ry...um...I...don't know how to put this...or...maybe I do...let me start over, um...Ryan...I definitely had...an attraction...feelings for you before last night."

The smaller man's eyes lit up. He chewed on his bottom lip in that ever so adorable way he did for just a second before leaning over the mess of plates between them to kiss Jim on the cheek.

"Hey, I'm not done!" Jim shouted, mostly playfully, grabbing Ryan by the hair.

"Right, right, yes, go on,"

"I have had some sort of feelings for you since the first day that you walked into the office. I brushed them off, kept them under wraps because of Pam, because I am straight. Yes, I still think I am at least mostly straight, but you are making me question that...and some other things."

"Are you finished, now?"

Jim nodded.

"Good,"

"Why?"

"Because," Ryan mumbled before completely catching Jim by the mouth in a heated kiss. "I needed to do that,"

"We have established that I have some sort of feelings, strong feelings for you, now what? I still don't know what I said to you last night...and I don't think that we should be kissing each other until that is all settled."

Ryan licked his lips, the taste of nutella and syrup, and Jim's black coffee still on them. "You told me that you were in love with me. You went on to say that you were certain that you were gay. Even went on to say that you were certain that you were going to break things off with Pam in order to be with me. Oh, and you told me how you had first realized that you preferred men."

"I really said all of that?" Jim asked, wondering if Ryan was the type to lie about such a thing.

"You really did. I said a lot of things, too. I confessed to you that I am bisexual and that I have always considered you the sexiest man at Dunder Mifflin. I told you about my fantasies, my first experience with a guy...I said that I waned to be with you...Then we came back to my place, the rest is history."

"That couldn't have taken that long, what did we spend the rest of the night doing, sleeping?"

"We had sex four times last night, Jim. Kitchen, living room, shower, bed."

"Wow," Jim paused, accidentally running a syrup sticky hand through his hair. "I can't believe I told you about Mark Heins in eighth grade."

"Don't forget, Jacob Wright in ninth, Joseph Tripp in the summer between ninth and tenth, David Silveri in tenth and in eleventh, and Henry something or other your junior year." Ryan chuckled.

"I never tell anyone those things. Hell, I haven't even told Pam about them."

"In vino veritas," 

"I have no idea how I am supposed to deal with this,"

"Should I give you time to process or should I assist you on the transition to us being together? I don't know what to do either."

Jim sighed, taking an overused page out of Pam's book, when he could have just shrugged. "I really need to figure out where things stand with Pam, first. I need to make sure she isn't going to kill me."

Ryan agreed. It was for the best if everything was right before they moved forward, no matter how they were going to do so. Jim was still trying to understand how this all came to be. 

If only there had been a camera.

***

This was stupid. All of Saturday had passed. Sunday and Monday, too. Pam wouldn't talk to him. She wouldn't even make eye contact with him unless it was by accident.

Things were never going to improve if they didn't cross the barrier. Which meant, he and Pam needed to have a real conversation.

At lunch he trapped her in the kitchen. He was going to talk to her if it was the last thing that he did. He didn't even care if it resulted in Toby having to intervene.

"Pam, you can't ignore me forever," 

She glared at him. There were no words, just daggers shooting out of her eyes. He knew that she had every right to be pissed, he did cheat on her, but he just wanted to clear things up. If it was impossible to repair their relationship, even a little, he at least hoped that they could be civil. 

"Pam!" He was practically shouting in her face, which did not exactly help the situation. 

"Move, Jim! I will hit you. I will! I am serious. Get out of my damn way!" She was radiating her anger, and the levels only seemed to spike when someone else walked into the room. Then she was actually grumbling. 

Jim spun around. Ryan had just walked in, wanting to get to the fridge. That was literally all that he wanted. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I just want my lunch, that is all. Promise." Ryan announced, cautiously moving past both of them.

"It is fine, Ry, you aren't doing anything wrong. You are allowed in here just as much as anyone else." Jim told him. He figured that it wouldn't hurt to show that he was going to continue to be a nice guy to everyone, no matter what the circumstances were.

He was not sure where things were going, however. Things were still very unclear. 

"Thank you, Jim. I appreciate it."

"Ry?" Pam whispered, making a face like saying the word made her sick to her stomach. 

"That is his name," Jim mentioned, once again not helping his case. 

Ryan sighed. "I'm really sorry. I will come back after the two of you are gone."

Ryan left the kitchen, only managing to dissolve a small amount of the tension, but it was not enough.

"Can we please talk? Please?" Jim asked.

Pam shook her head, brushing past him and returning to her desk. She just wanted to focus on her work, not on Jim's infidelity. He was the one person that she thought she could trust. She had been wrong. 

Jim stood in the kitchen for a few more minutes after Pam left. He took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. He was beginning to wonder if he would actually be able to make it through this.

Ryan came back into the kitchen, hoping to have access to the fridge once and for all. 

"Hey," Jim said accompanied by the weakest wave physically possible.

Ryan stood shoulder to shoulder with Jim, or as close to that as he was able to considering their height difference. "I am sorry that I have messed everything up, I've made it all complicated."

Jim shook his head. "Nonsense. This is zero percent your fault. The only thing you can be accused of is having consensual sex with me. I came on to you. I also am not going to deny my feelings for you. This is real." He took a deep breath, grabbing a hold of Ryan's hand. "And, you know what? Maybe I am gay."

"You need to make a clean break from her, if that is actually the case. It isn't fair to either of you." Ryan pointed out, and Jim could barely handle just how right he was.

"Hm. I think I like having you around."

"I might accept that as a compliment," Ryan chuckled before walking away. 

Jim found himself alone once again, and this time, he realized that he had a lot more thinking to do before he continued to fight. 


	3. Math Problems

The hardest thing that Jim ever had to do was spend the night alone with his own abusive thoughts. It had been a long time since he had actually been without any companionship for the entire night. It wasn't his style. 

Every hour seemed to pass by a little bit slower than the last. Every single second, drawn out into one million more. He couldn't stand it. For the first time in a long time, he thought he was going to cry.

He hated all of this. He felt like a little kid again. It all brought him back to a memory he had long since repressed.

Long before his strange feelings for Mike, there had been another, technically. He was still in elementary school, and although he couldn't remember the boy's name, he could definitely remember their friendship. Just like he could remember the first time that they had held hands, and the day that they promised to be together forever. All of it was coming back to him, all the images of him and the sweet boy with the dark hair and the big blue eyes, eyes not at all unlike Ryan's.

That was when Jim really knew. As a child, he had been okay with it all, not fully understanding how society was. All prior to his secret boyfriends in between his overly public girlfriends in high school and college. 

He couldn't help, but wish that things would have turned out differently. Two times in his life, boys with beautiful blue eyes had caused upheaval. First, when his brothers told on him for cuddling innocently with the boy, and now, his unbelievably strong feelings for Ryan coming into focus after he finally managed to get who he thought was his dream girl.

He pulled his phone off of the charger, checking the time and if he had any messages. He had already sort of figured that there would be no messages, but he had hoped for some. 

The worst part was that it was only midnight. There hadn't even been a dent in the night, not really, anyways. There was still so much left of the night. 

He held his phone tightly. He had to resist waking anyone up at this hour.

He promised himself that he would deal with it on his own.

***

It was shortly after one in the morning when Jim arrived at Ryan's. Unsurprisingly, Kelly was the one who answered the door. 

"Hey, Jim!" She shouted in a voice that was just way too chipper considering what time it was. 

"Hey, Kelly," Jim mumbled his response, wanting her to let him inside while at the same time wondering what sort of benefit she was getting out of her weird arrangement with Ryan.

A moment later Ryan walked out of his bedroom, rubbing his sleepy eyes, hair a mess. It was actually somewhat miraculous that he had managed to throw on pajama bottoms before he stumbled out to see what the commotion was all about.

Jim tried not ti, but he bit his bottom lip as his eyes ran along the entire length of Ryan's pale body. It was going to become a problem if he didn't look away.

"Jim? What on earth are you doing here?" Ryan asked.

Jim licked his lips and stepped forward, bridging the gap between them. He placed both hands on Ryan's face and pulled him into a passionate, breathtaking kiss.

"You came all the way here at one in the morning so you could do that?" Ryan asked after they parted, almost completely out of breath.

Jim kept one hand underneath Ryan's chin, simply to make it easier for him to gaze into his eyes. He was amazed by him, more and more everyday.

"That's so romantic!" Kelly shouted, clasping her hands together, still weirdly supportive of it all.

"Jim?" Ryan said his name. Jim absolutely loved it when he said his name. There was just something about the way that he did it. It gave him butterflies.

Jim scooped Ryan up into his arms, causing him to yelp in shock. He made sure that Ryan wrapped his arms around his neck, and then carried him to the bedroom. As far as he was concerned, they had some unfinished business in there, anyways.

***

"Have I ever told you that you are so weird?" Ryan said, words muffled into Jim's chest.

"No,"

"You are weird,"

"Aw, C'mon, I'm not that weird."

"You came to my apartment in the early hours of the morning, kissed me, carried me to my bedroom...so that we could cuddle?"

"Yup. I did that. Yes. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about you. It was...horrible, not having you beside me. I had to be with you. I needed you. So, I came to you."

Ryan smiled uncontrollably. All because of Jim. Jim loved it. 

"I also sorta came here to properly ask you out, but I was going to wait to do that until morning," Jim added on.

"When you do, I'll say yes. I will always say yes."

Jim had something else to say, but he was instantly lost in Ryan's blues once more. If he was ever going to be able to focus on anything again, he was going to need to learn to not get trapped by the smaller man's perfect gaze.

"God you're incredible," He spit out, not thinking about it even a second before. Apparently, he was Mr. Impulsive-Decision-Making all of a sudden. Which was dumb.

Ryan blushed. Jim thought it was cute. His mind flashed back to the little boy with the intense blue eyes from his childhood. He squinted at Ryan, trying to imagine what he would have looked like back then.

He thought a little harder about it, despite the fact that he was being glared at. He was certain that he and Ryan were about the same age, one or two years apart. Perhaps, even closer than he originally thought.

"What? What? Why are you looking at me like that? Stop."

Jim snapped out of it. "Sorry. Sorry."

"What on earth were you thinking about?"

"Elementary school,"

Ryan furrowed his brow. "That's...so incredibly...strange,"

"I was thinking about when you and I got caught laying in bed together as little kids. My brothers, they were such assholes. My parents, perhaps even worse. They never let me spend time with you after that. And, then, you switched schools. It might not have seemed like much, but I remember. It broke my heart." Jim explained further, going out on a limb since he still wasn't one hundred percent sure that it had actually been Ryan who he played with as a child.

"Heh, well," Ryan whispered.

Jim's heart sank. That was not the reaction that he had been hoping for.

Ryan caressed Jim's face. The smile he wore somehow brighter and more wonderful than the last. "You might still be working everything out as far as Pam and the rest of your life goes, but I am honest when I tell you that you have me, no matter what..."

Jim grabbed him by the waist, pulling him on top of him. "I'm glad to hear it,"

"I love you, Jim Halpert," Ryan said, pressing their foreheads together. 

"I..." Jim began.

"No, no, it is fine if you don't say it. You don't have to. If you say it before you are ready it won't really mean anything."

"I'm in love with you, Ryan, and I mean it when I say it."

***

Jim could not believe how tired he was the next morning. Well, actually he could, but that didn't make it any less of a problem.

Perhaps, it would have been less annoying if Pam was talking to him, instead of making displeased noises every time Ryan had to walk by. It was actually getting so bad that Ryan was trying to pass them unnoticed when he had to venture into that part of the office.

Half of Jim's mind considered standing up at his desk and announcing to the entire office that he and Ryan were together. But, that was bound to wind up a disaster no matter how it played out. 

He was also not looking for more reasons to give to Dwight's crusade against him.

He was not in the mood for Michael's antics, either. 

Or Pam, if he was being perfectly, completely honest. Since she still wasn't talking to him, and his hopes of that changing were almost entirely dashed. 

He realized that he had to accept that there was a real possibility that every aspect of his relationship with Pam was over, and that it was mostly his fault. He couldn't help, but think that it was a lot better to have it all come out now, instead of later down the line, after they were married.

That didn't mean that he exactly wanted to deal with it, but at least he had accepted it.

Ryan came out into the main part of the office, eyes on Jim. He walked right over to his desk, hands on his shoulders, massaging slightly. He had clearly given up the previous approach of avoiding that cluster. 

He leaned down so that his lips were right beside Jim's ear. "I have decided that I am going to be the one who calls the shots, since you won't. Tonight, eight o' clock. Pick me up at my apartment. You already know where that is." He whispered.

Jim's eyes enlarged, and before he had the chance to stop himself he spoke as if Pam wasn't right beside them. "Where are we going?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Pam was going through her usual range of angry and disgusted glares, ensuring that Jim saw each and every one of them. She appeared to be hard at work trying to remain silent, but that only lasted until Ryan's last comment.

"Keep your hands off of my boyfriend!" She shouted.

Ryan looked over at her. "Excuse me?"

"DON'T TOUCH MY BOYFRIEND!" She shouted, even louder.

Ryan stood up to full height, arms crossed. "Who do you think you are, telling me what I can and can't do? Someone has to take care of this gorgeous man while you are off being irrational, not even letting him tell you what is going on before you shut him out."

Pam rose to her feet immediately after. "Excuse me, TEMP!? Who are you to decide if my boyfriend is being taken care of or not?!"

Jim remained silent. He was going to do so for as long as humanely possible. However, he did make the mistake of looking back toward Michael's office, seeing him staring out, trying to decide if he was going to make any effort to intervene or not.

"You know what? I don't need to listen to this." Ryan said with a scowl on his face, turning to head back to the annex. 

"That's right! And, you better stay back there where you belong, away from us!"

"Can someone kindly explain to all of us that are clearly missing some of the information what is going on here?" Dwight asked, bright eyes and a smile comparable to Satan at a church burning. He very well could have been the damn devil, if the devil owned a beet farm.

Jim rolled his eyes. He faintly heard the sound of a doorknob twisting in the background. If that was the signal, they were all about to witness round two.

"Do we need to have a meeting in my office or are we going to discuss whatever just happened right out here in the open?" Michael asked, stepping out onto the floor. It had only been a matter of time. That was the reality of it. 


	4. The Day is My Enemy

Jim just sighed. Did he want to finally clear the air? Yes, of course he did. Did he want the entire office involved when it happened? Absolutely not. Not even in the slightest. This was what nightmares were made of. 

"In your office," Pam said quietly. 

"Alright. Go get Ryan and we can hash this whole thing out."

"Wait, why do I have to go get Ryan?" Pam whined in response to the orders that Michael had given. 

Michael raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, alright, fine. Jim can go get Ryan then."

Pam shook her head, deciding against it simply because she could not stand the thought of them even being slightly alone together. "Never mind, I will go get him,"

"Gosh she is acting weird," Michael mumbled, making Jim ever so uncomfortable and causing Dwight to chuckle, although Jim was not sure why Dwight found everything so god damn amusing all of a sudden.

***

"Okay, now that I have the three of you here, I would like to hear, in your own words, what is going on. What was the yelling about? Ryan, you can go first." Michael told them, sitting at his desk in the most relaxed position available, with his hands in a steeple.

Jim and Pam looked at each other, right past Ryan who was in between them. One million and one different things running through their heads. Ryan had the chance to spill so much information, and he was given the power to do so in only a few moments.

Ryan cleared his throat and moved his glasses up on top of his head. "Where should I begin? When this whole thing started? Or just what had happened earlier today?"

"Whatever you feel will help me understand the problem the best, use your better judgement,"

"Okay," He began, and Jim visibly tensed up beside him. "The shouting from today stems from the fact that Jim spent the night at my place after the party. Now, after days of refusing to speak to Jim, Pam has developed an irrational fear that she is going to lose him to me."

Jim's eyes enlarged, completely taken aback by the route that Ryan was taking.

"Oh, well, that doesn't seem so bad," Michael smiled. "I don't see why everyone is getting worked up about that,"

"He is forgetting some details from his little story there, Michael. He didn't tell you what Jim said to me over the phone that night, or that Kelly was spilling all of the dirty details to Erin, who came to me about them, assuming I already knew everything that was going on. He also didn't tell you that Jim spent last night at his apartment, as well, something that I picked up on simply because Jim is wearing the same shirt that he had on yesterday, and smells like Ryan's cologne." Pam went on a scornful rant, completely able to breathe fire by the end. 

"Jim, do you have anything else to add to this?"

"No. I think everything that needed to be said is already out in the open." Jim replied, no longer willing to make eye contact with anyone in the room. "I have work to do, can I go back to that?"

"Nope. Nu-uh. No way. Not until we sort all of this out. Now, I have a few questions because I feel like I might not have been paying complete attention or I missed something. Pam, do you think that Jim and Ryan are having an affair behind your back?"

"No, I am pretty sure that they are having the affair right in front of my face. Neither of them have even attempted to hide any of it from me." Pam groaned.

"Ryan? Jim? Care to comment?"

"You know, I came in here with the intention of simply telling Pam that there was nothing going on, absolutely nothing to worry about, but based on her attitude I have decided that it was a bad idea. I am going with my gut. Jim and I are friends, yes we spent the other night together, yes we spent last night together, we have a history. Perhaps, that means that things are changing, not putting a label on it just yet. Pam didn't talk to Jim when he tried to explain to her that he's ga..."

Jim stood up so fast and clasped his hand over Ryan's mouth that the first syllable of the last word that he said barely was able to come out. Of course, he immediately regretted his decision because it was all the more noticeable and suspicious. It truthfully was not his best move.

Pam's jaw dropped. It didn't matter that he stopped it from getting out into the open. She knew what Ryan was about to say, regardless of how unsure Jim was about it in the first place.

"You're gay? You're both gay?!" Michael shouted. "Ryan Howard and Jim Halpert are having gay sex together in this office?"

Ryan ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. Their boss was uncontrollably moronic and no amount of psychological help would ever fix his level of stupid. 

Pam took a deep breath. She had suspected that Jim was at least bisexual for a while, just based on things that she had learned about him, things that he did, things that he said. It had always remained in the back of her mind, never having the chance to bring it out into the open. It had been so much worse than she imagined. Her heart could not take much more. After all of this time, everything that they had been through, it was like this.

"We are definitely not having sex in the office, we've barely been interacting with each other in the office," Jim said in a monotone, hating that this all had to come out in such a way, especially when he had not even decided if he was going to officially come out at all. 

"But you are having gay sex? With each other?" Michael then asked, making the gesture with his hands.

"Yes, okay. Ryan and I have been in a...have been...we had sex." Jim said, completely getting it out in the open. There was hardly anything left to say that hadn't already come up. 

"Why would you do that to me, Jim? How could you? How could you sleep with him? With fucking Ryan? How?"

Jim threw his hands up in surrender, walking out without another word. He could not bring himself to explain it any further under those circumstances. He was done. One little mess up had caused his entire, mostly perfect, little world to come crashing down around him.

And yet, it didn't hurt him as much as he thought it would. Everyone involved was a bit upset, they should have been, they had every right to be, but it didn't have the earth shattering effect that he had expected. It was more of a weight lifted kind of feeling. 

Regardless, he absolutely needed some fresh air.

***

Jim walked for a long time, completely aimless. He left his cell phone on his desk, not wanting to be bothered.

He wound up in a park. It was mostly empty, due to it being the middle of the day on a weekday, so it just so happened to be perfect. It was exactly what he needed.

He found a bench to sit on. It was an ideal place for him to just stare off into outer space, or in this case, a play ground. If it hadn't been empty, he probably would have had the cops called on him by now.

As time passed he began to grow angry, at himself. He created a problem by not being true to who he knew he really was. All these years. 

He ran his hands over his face, groaning while internally complaining about the events of the past week. 

Someone tapped on his shoulder. Honestly, he was expecting the worst.

When he looked up, it was Ryan, wearing the most adorable smile in all of history across his face. His heart melted a bit.

"How did you find me?"

"I just had a feeling. It was almost as if I knew the moment that you left."

"Really?" Jim asked with wide eyes. 

Ryan giggled. "No, I asked a lot of people on the way if they had seen this cute, tall guy with messy brown hair and if they said yes, I had them point me in the right direction. If there is one thing that I have learned about myself, it is that I have commitment issues. I'm not letting them get in the way this time. I know better than to let someone as beautiful as you walk away. You and I are something special."

"Damn," Jim said quietly, taking Ryan's explanation as reasoning for his initial statement to Michael.

Ryan sat down beside him. "I love you, so, now you can't get rid of me. You officially lost your last chance to back out of this train wreck. Long haul, big picture. You're mine, Jim Halpert. All mine. I will spend every day for the rest of my life proving to you just how much you mean to me. I promise. Are you scared yet?" 

Jim grabbed Ryan by the chin and pulled him in for a sweet, loving kiss. "Not even in the slightest,"

"You are not allowed to do that,"

"Do what?" Jim asked coyly.

"Talk to me like that, or kiss me like that. My heart skips a beat and my stomach is full of butterflies, my palms get clammy..."

"Sounds like you've got it real bad, Ry, no chance of being cured. Your case is terminal. You are patient zero."

"Oh dear god..."

"Yes, my child?" Jim replied, holding in a laugh.

With that, Ryan had had enough of Jim's antics. He silenced him by taking him into another kiss. It worked and it was wonderful.

"Ha! I knew it!" Dwight shouted, running up to them with what was so obviously evil intent. Or jealousy, for all Jim knew.

Jim broke the kiss, sighing and rolling his eyes as soon as he laid eyes on the man. 

"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked. Eventually, he would be able to get over the lost moment.

"I had my suspicions when you and Pam were fighting earlier. It all seemed more true when Michael called you all into his office. I was tempted to follow Jim then, when he walked out, confront him, but I waited. When Pam returned to her desk, red eyed, but you did not...I talked to Michael, who made a lot of lewd hand gestures. Then I finally caught you two in the act. Dwight K. Schrute is never wrong."

"Please. Please just stop. I've had a long enough day as it is without your definitive brand of brilliance added to the mix. We just want to be alone." Jim complained, sounding a tad more whiny then he meant to.

Dwight opened and shut his mouth a few times like he was about to say something, but the words never came out. Instead, he looked like a fish gaping its lips in hopes of finding water. However, Ryan preferred the idea that he was going through some sort of photosynthesis like regeneration.

"My point exactly," Jim said with his hand out toward Dwight.

Ryan smirked. "If you'll excuse us,"

The new couple began kissing again, love radiating between them. It was something that they both thought they had felt before, but it had been nothing compared to this new experience.

The kiss broke again. "Wow," Jim mumbled. 

"I think we should probably head back, diffuse the rumors that Michael and Dwight are going to spread." Ryan suggested. "Like an std,"

"They are all going to make our lives horrible, at least until the heat dies down, people like me...mostly, but everyone loves Pam, except for maybe, Angela. Angela will be awful to us for reasons unrelated to Pam."

"Which I don't understand because she is friends with Oscar,"

"I am not prepared to even begin to explain to people what happened, that is kind of because I still am a little fuzzy on the other night,"

"Well, if it gets too bad then I will quit. It would be worth it. I am just a temp. You are more important to me than any dumb, pointless job. You are all that I want, all that I need. Other places will hire me."

"Let's take the rest of the day off. Screw them."

"I hope the only person that you will actually be screwing is me," Ryan whispered, grabbing the collar of Jim's shirt.

"Is that an invitation?" Jim's breath hitched when the image finally hit his brain. 

Ryan nodded, biting his bottom lip.

Jim held out his hand. Ryan accepted. The two walked back to the parking lot to get Jim's car, not even noticing that Dwight was still there, sitting on the ground cross legged, contemplating the exact reason he had been defeated by Jim and Ryan. 


	5. The Night is My Friend

Ryan was pinned against the back of the door the second that Jim had it closed. Their mouths were in a constant state of collision, teeth and tongues and lips in motion. Hands on wrists and more. 

It was perfect.

Ryan tilted his neck to the side, allowing Jim better access to all the most sensitive parts of his neck. Jim took the hint, trailing down the line of his jaw to get closer to the right spot, stopping to nibble on his collar bone in the process.

Jim slowly began to grind his hips into Ryan, able to feel the shorter man's erection through the fabric of his trousers. The friction only made it better, a sensation he had long since forgotten, but got right back into. His cock throbbed, clearly wanting to be put to better use.

"Wrap your legs around my waist," Jim told him.

Ryan snapped out of his aroused daze, staring blankly back at Jim who had completely stopped kissing him at this point. "Why?"

"Just do it,"

"Okay," Ryan said, smiling and doing as he should have in the first place.

Jim threw Ryan down on the couch, immediately jumping on top of him. His hands were all over his body, tearing clothes off and throwing them in every direction, kissing the bare inches of skin exposed. He could not get over the taste of Ryan's skin, or his strangely delicious scent. Those things only served to drive him even more wild.

This was strangely beautiful. Everything clicked. Every movement meshed perfectly with the last.

Jim ran his hands down the length of Ryan's body. He backed up onto his knees, taking a moment to admire what was in front of him. He licked his lips and smiled wickedly before grabbing one of Ryan's legs and using it to assist in flipping him onto his stomach. 

He trailed down Ryan's spine, pressing kisses along his tender spots. He worked down to his ass, pausing once more to really, truly admire what was his for the taking. 

"What are you waiting for? Why did you stop?" Ryan asked, turning his head so he wasn't muffled by the pillow.

"You have a magnificent ass, anyone ever told you that?" Jim said in a sultry tone, dripping in seduction and full on sex.

Ryan giggled. A sound that made Jim's nostrils flare and his thick cock twitch. At that moment he knew that this was what he had been missing in his life. 

Before another word could be said, Jim was running his tongue along Ryan's tight hole. He used every trick he had, dancing his talented tongue into every spot that he knew would result in a moan. He continued until Ryan began to twist and buck his hips, crying out for mercy.

Jim stopped, but only with his mouth. He immediately pushed one finger inside, curling up at just the right angle. Ryan gasped, which was exactly the reaction he was looking for.

The few times that Pam had actually allowed him to do this, her reaction had always been either discomfort, or worse, nothing at all. Yet, here Ryan was, doing the exact opposite. He genuinely appeared to be enjoying it, and that was wonderful.

Jim added a second finger. He scissored his fingers apart, taking time to stretch Ryan as much as possible, while still hitting against his prostate every so often.

Ryan cried out. He moaned loudly as he bucked again.

"Jim! Fuck! Jim! Please!" Ryan cried into the pillow after Jim slid a third finger inside.

"Please, what?" Jim asked, wanting nothing more than to hear him say it.

"Please fuck me! Please, Jim! Fuck me! Don't make me beg more! Fuck!"

Jim had the most wicked smirk possible come across his face. He grabbed Ryan by the leg again, forcing him over onto his back. He was going to do this right, and that meant staring into those eyes that he loved so damn much.

He caught Ryan by the mouth while he swiftly shoved a spare pillow under his back. As soon as the kiss broke his hand was on the base of his cock as he lead it in.

The first thrusts were slow, gentle, as they both adjusted to the feeling. It had been a long time since Jim had been with a man, and all it took was one thrust to remind him just how much he enjoyed every sensation. It was amazing. 

The pace quickened. Their writhing bodies caught up in a moment of entangled limbs. Jim's thrusts were harder and Ryan's back was arched completely. Cries of pleasure erupted from both of them. It was pure bliss. 

Jim slammed into Ryan's prostate. He reached down in between them and grabbed Ryan's hard, neglected shaft, stroking in rhythm with his thrusts. 

"Oh fuck, Jim! Jim! I'm gonna cum! Please don't stop!" Ryan shouted in between labored breaths. 

Somehow, through a force of nature, the moment that Ryan spilled out across their bellies, Jim's thrusts became more erratic and he filled Ryan up. 

Jim collapsed on top of Ryan, sweaty and sticky, and in love.

Better than anything.

"Damn," Jim whispered. "Damn,"

"You're telling me," Ryan laughed weakly, catching his breath. "Let's go back to my room. It is probably more comfortable."

"I like the sound of that,"

"Probably wouldn't be too bad of an idea to clean ourselves up, either,"

Jim laughed. "No kidding,"

***

Jim woke up completely and totally refreshed for the first time in a long time. He felt amazing, better than he had in months. Having Ryan curled up against him? That just made it even better, because he looked so beautiful and peaceful when he was sleeping.

"Good morning," He said softly, brushing a hand across Ryan's cheek. "How did you sleep?"

Ryan smiled. "Good, how did you sleep?"

"So freaking well, thanks to you," Jim chuckled.

"What time is it, anyways?" Ryan asked, sitting up to look at the alarm clock. "Well, we are going to be late for work, for starters. Which, will be extra exciting to walk into. I certainly can't wait to arrive at those doors hand-in-hand with you."

"Are we really going to do that?" Jim asked him, worried about making the decision to completely expose themselves to everyone in their office.

"Why not? Odds are that everyone already knows after what happened yesterday, Michael never keeps his mouth shut, add that all in with Dwight's nonsense and what Kelly has already told Erin. Basically, we are walking into a war torn battleground where everyone has already decided if they are Team Pam or Team Ryan, and they already know if they hate you or not." Ryan explained.

"Lovely,"

"It was bound to happen eventually, if not now, then it would be a few weeks from now, a few months, even this Friday. Let's just take this head on. We've got this. Our love can withstand this. We can withstand this."

Jim kissing the top of Ryan's head. "i don't know where your burst of confidence came from, but I like it."

"Yeah,"

"It's fucking amazing," Jim said, sitting upright. "Alright, let's go be late to work."

***

They stood in the elevator together, completely silent. They didn't even look at each other. It was all just anticipation at this point. 

The elevator doors opened. It was the moment of truth. Only a short distance to the Dunder Mifflin offices from there.

Jim stepped out of the elevator first, holding out his hand for Ryan, who graciously accepted it. Then they began their walk.

When they finally arrived at the door, Jim reached out and twisted the door handle. 

***

The office was eerily silent when they stepped inside the door. All eyes were on them, literally, and it seemed as though that was not going to change any time soon. It certainly did not help that they had arrived late.

Front and center was Pam, who had turned her chair away from her desk just to watch their entrance that was sure to become an interesting spectacle. Scorn was still fresh on her face.

Michael immediately walked out of his office, staring at Jim and Ryan. "You both left early yesterday, and you both showed up late today. Do you think that is acceptable behavior now that you're gay?"

Ryan raised his eyebrows, not entirely clear on how to answer him. And, based on the silence coming from Jim, he didn't know how to answer, either.

"Do you think that you should b able to make your own schedules and come and go as you please now that you're gay? Do you think that Oscar should also be allowed this privilege? Should their be a way for us to find out if you are really gay? Can anyone make their own schedule?" Michael decided to shoot off even more awkward questions.

Where Toby was or what he was doing that prevented him from making a comment on the matter became more and more of an annoyance.

Jim cleared his throat. "I am sure that you have all heard some version of the truth, I know how rumors spread around here. So, let me set the record straight, although I have not even had the chance to tell my own family, I am gay. I have tried to repress it and keep it under wraps almost my entire life, but now I am done hiding. I am gay and it feels wonderful to finally say it out loud."

"And, I am bisexual. I know how most people feel about that word, but it is my truth. Right now, I am in a relationship with Jim. It is new, and yet, it feels better than anything I've ever experienced before. I have never been happier, and I feel so damn lucky to have him." Ryan added. 

There was a strange silence that followed, but they both knew that it wasn't going to be long lived.


	6. Things I've Done, Secrets I've Kept

"Is it true that you cheated on Pam?" Phyllis asked.

Jim sighed. "Yes, technically, I did cheat on Pam. And, I feel horrible about it. I should feel awful about it. What I did was wrong. That all being said, it was also wrong to continue a relationship with someone I care about very much, when deep in my heart I knew that we just were not compatible the way that she deserved. It made more sense to end it now, rather than down the road. I did not mean for it all to come out the way that it did, but I am glad that it finally did." Jim watched Pam, pausing to take a deep breath. He needed to know that she was at least on some level listening. "I love you Pam, and I am so sorry for hurting you like this. I never meant for it to come to this. I really do value our friendship and I hope that in time you can forgive me, preserving that relationship."

Pam's scornful expression softened a bit, and Jim thought that maybe, just maybe, she might have been willing to accept his apology.

She shook her head, dashing all of his hopes that he still had. "No. No, I cannot forgive you. Not now, probably not ever. What you did made me rethink everything in my life, and we may have to work together, but we do not have to talk. Okay?" 

Jim scuffed his foot against the carpeted ground. He ceased eye contact with everyone in the office, decided to be completely quiet for the remainder of the day. It was probably for the best. He didn't want to argue with anyone anymore. He just didn't want to fight. He just wanted to do his damn job.

As Jim pulled away from Ryan to take his seat there was an obvious shift in his demeanor. Ryan hated that. He yanked Jim back into his arms, holding him close for a moment, rubbing his hands along his back.

"Today will be a good day. I promise." He whispered, trying to be as reassuring as possible. "I love you. I will see you at lunch."

Jim nodded, taking Ryan's arms off before heading to his seat. This was going to be a long day.

"You're a mess," Dwight muttered, just loud enough for Jim to be able to hear.

"I'm not in the mood, Dwight, seriously,"

"Like I care. You haven't even attempted to pick up a phone. At least Pam is actually doing her job. She's even better than before, probably because she is no longer distracted by you."

"Dwight, I wasn't kidding,"

"I already told you that I do not care,"

Jim threw the papers out of his hands and stood up from his desk angrily. He was not spending his day being harassed. 

He decided he was going to go back to the annex. He didn't even care if he couldn't find a way to be productive, just so long as the nonsense stopped.

As he made that walk he kept his head down. He did not have to look at anyone to know that all eyes were on him once more. He could hear the mostly indiscernible mumbles among them, he didn't need to see their faces.

He closed his eyes tightly, knowing the way by heart. This was ridiculous. He had never been this upset over his co-workers. And, yet, here he was, almost in tears.

Ryan was sitting on Kelly's desk when he arrived, clearly in the middle of a heated rant that stopped the second that he locked eyes with Jim. His sudden silence was enough to make Kelly turn around to look at him.

"Hey, babe," Ryan said with a slight wave of his hand.

"Hi," Jim replied weakly. "Do you guys mind if I stay back here for a while? Things have gotten a little uncomfortable. I couldn't bring myself to stay back at my desk."

"Come here," Ryan said, holding out his hand.

Jim accepted it, allowing Ryan to pull him into the spot on Kelly's desk beside him.

"Ah! I am so jealous of you two. You fit so well together. Pretty sure the two of you could conquer anything."

"You'll find someone, Kells, you will find your own Jim," Ryan chuckled. 

"Yeah, maybe, or perhaps, I can become someone's Jim," Kelly replied in a soft tone, sighing at the end.

Ryan cupped Kelly's chin. "You are not still hung up on her, are you? Honey, that little girl could not be more straight. It is time for you to think about looking for someone a little more, well, with a penis."

She raised an eyebrow. "In case you are forgetting the last guy that I was interested in, it was you, and look where that got me. I need someone more feminine. Nothing you say is going to change that. Sorry."

Jim didn't mean to be, but he was hanging on to every word. The conversation was actually leaning toward being rather interesting.

"Kells, nothing good comes from pining after your straight crushes," Ryan told her.

Kelly gestured at Jim. "It worked out for you,"

"That doesn't count, Jim is really gay,"

"You didn't know that when you first started pursuing him. Who knows? Maybe, Erin has a queer side?"

Jim nodded, even though he technically was not part of the conversation. "She is a little quirky, though, if anyone in this office is going to be up for it, it will be her. I'd move in on her, before Andy gets her."

Ryan turned toward Jim. "That was oddly insightful, didn't even think that you were listening,"

"Glad you were though. I am going to go for it. Wish me luck, because I want to be able to go on double dates with the two of you."

And, then they were alone in Kelly's cubicle, with only Toby able to hear them. It was oddly peaceful since the only member of the Scranton branch's Human Resources department was relatively harmless.

"I had no idea that she was also bisexual," Jim said, breaking the temporary silence.

"She doesn't identify that way, actually, more like pan then anything else,"

Jim shrugged. "I have no idea what that even means,"

"You don't need to. It really is not that important in the grand scheme of things. You know that you are gay, that is important."

"Right, right. Man, I really need to call my parents. I don't want to."

"Ah,"

"It wouldn't be that big of a deal if I wasn't intending to continue our relationship, but I am pretty serious about that, so, eventually, whey are going to need to meet you..."

Ryan grabbed the back of Jim's head and pushed him into a kiss, silencing him with his lips. "Say no more, I love you, so damn much,"

Kelly burst back into the annex a moment later. The expression on her face was not a good one. Jim feared for the worst. He knew she was going to take it out on him if something bad had happened between her and Erin. 

She sat down and put her head in her hands, making these over dramatic sounds that were probably closer to sobbing than anything else. 

Ryan's eyes enlarged and he slowly reached out for his friend. "Kells, sweetie, talk to me,"

What followed was some mumbling and the very clear word Jim. That wasn't a good sign. 

"What?" Jim asked, internally freaking out.

Kelly looked up, smiling. "So, Erin might have a little bit of lesbian in her. I don't know if she completely understood what she agreed to just yet, but I'm hopeful. Thanks, Jim!"

"You're...welcome?"

"What are you going to do, get her drunk?" Ryan asked curiously.

"Worked for you and Jim, didn't it?"

"That's different, Jim was already drunk. I just became his shoulder to cry on, and allowed him to continue drinking."

Jim listened carefully. Slowly, but surely he was learning more and more about the night that brought him and Ryan together. It was always a little bit more interesting with every little fact that was added.

"Jim!" Ryan shouted to regain his attention.

He snapped out of his most recent daze and looked at Ryan. "What?"

"I asked you a question,"

"Oh, I'm sorry, ask me again,"

"Where are we going on our first date?"

Jim smiled, impulsively taking Ryan's hands in his. "I'll take you absolutely anywhere that you want to go, absolutely anywhere,"

Oddly enough, he noticed that Kelly was gone again.

Ryan bit his bottom lip, long eyelashes fluttering over his blue eyes, pale skin a little red in the cheeks. Jim thought he was beautiful like this.

He knew that he loved him, maybe even more in that moment. 

"Do you want to know what my ideal date would be?" Ryan asked.

"Of course I do,"

"Bad takeout food, probably Chinese or Mexican. Horribly sappy films or obscure B horror flicks, obviously with popcorn, cuddled together on a couch. Stolen kisses and sweet exchanges of words, maybe leading up to something a bit more exciting."

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep on finding new ways to make me fall more in love with you,"

Just then, Toby rolled his chair out so that he could see both of them. "The two of you are kinda like a bad, really cliche rom-com with gay guys,"

They just looked at each other and laughed. 

***

"I just want to kiss you," Jim giggled, a little high on life in that particular moment.

"Then just kiss me," Ryan said back, smile taking over his face.

Jim leaned in close, hands on Ryan's hips as he caught him by the mouth. The slow, passionate kiss taking control of both their bodies.

Jim's phone started ringing. He quickly reached down to silence it. 

It rang again. This time he removed it from his pocket to see who was calling before silencing it. It was his mother.

"I'll call her back later," He mumbled, setting it down on the coffee table.

She called a third time, being persistent as ever. All it really proved was that he should have shut his phone off.

"Maybe it is important," Ryan told him, making a very good point.

"Right, right. I guess I should probably see what she wants, make sure it isn't serious." Jim said as he cautiously hit the accept button on his phone.

" _It is about time that you answered. Why won't you answer the door?_ " His mother asked before he could even greet her, leaving him with an obvious look of fear on his face that Ryan instantly picked up on.

"I'm not home, actually,"

" _Where are you? I have some stuff for you, including a certain piece of jewelry that you had asked for. Are you with Pam?_ "

Jim swallowed hard. "Um, no, I am not with Pam, actually because we broke up,"

She didn't allow him to say another word. " _You what? What happened? Did she hurt you?_ "

"I'm the one that hurt her, she didn't do anything wrong, not really, anyways." Jim said vaguely. "And, I don't really want to discuss the exact details over the phone." 

" _Alright, well, can you tell me where you are if it is not too far from your place so that i can drop this stuff off?_ "

"Um, can you just hold onto it for a few days?"

" _Oh, I get it. You don't want me to see who you're with, is that it? The reason that you and Pam broke up?_ "

Jim sighed. "It is a little more complicated...and sensitive than that. I would really rather talk about it some other time."

" _Fine. Fine. I will talk to you later. I love you_."

"Love you, too, mom,"

After he hung up the phone he turned his attention back to Ryan, wanting to pick up right where they left off.

"Wait," Ryan put his hands up to stop him. "Why didn't you tell your mother who you where with?"

"Our relationship is too new. I don't want her becoming overly involved in it, possibly pushing you away. Plus, I don't want to come out to my mother over the phone." Jim explained.

Ryan ended up smiling. "Fair enough. Good thing that I love you, right?"

"Yeah, it is," Jim kissed Ryan on the cheek. "It really is," 

 


	7. My New Happy Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sort of super gushy fluffy business before the big, bad things happen.

Jim got in Ryan's shower in the morning. There had to be some changes made. For starters, they needed to actually arrive at work on time. It caused too much commotion when they came in late, especially since they came in together.

While he was washing his hair, the shower curtain moved. Ryan stepped inside.

"Hello, gorgeous," He whispered, hands pressed against Jim's wet chest.

"Hey, Ry,"

Ryan's hands moved down Jim's torso, sliding them back and grabbing his ass. The attention woke up Jim's cock immediately, though in all honestly it was probably going to happen anyways. "Interesting, I was thinking the same thing,"

"Um, what?"

Ryan smirked. "This, obviously," He sort of mumbled before dropping down to his knees.

Ryan wrapped one of his hands around the base of Jim's shaft. He leaned his head in close, flicking his tongue against the tip before taking it in his mouth.

"Oh, fuck," Jim moaned, putting a hand against the shower wall to steady himself.

Ryan continued to suck on Jim's rock hard cock. He took the entire length in his mouth, all the way up to the hilt, paying special attention to the underside of the shaft. 

Precum dripped from Jim as his breathing became more and more erratic. He had trouble holding himself upright, falling victim to Ryan's unbelievably talented mouth. There was no way that he was going to last much longer, at least not at this rate.

Sure enough, Ryan had known exactly what to do. He had Jim shouting his name only moments later, taking that as an absolute win.

Ryan stood up, wiping off the sides of his mouth, well accomplished smile across his face. The swollen lips were worth it. "Now when you walk into work you can do it with pride, head held high. Today, nothing can stop you."

"Maybe..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If I solve the problem at work that still leaves the problem of my family and friends who have no idea. I guess it just feels weird, keeping this a secret from them."

Ryan grabbed both of Jim's hands. "Then don't keep it from them. Tell them."

"That is really simple in words, but I don't want to tell them without you by my side. You are literally the reason I am still getting through this."

"I have no problem being there for you, no matter what,"

Jim's eyes widened. "Even though we haven't really been together that long?"

"We've already told each other that we love each other and that was days ago. It is fine. Let's do this, together. However you want."

Jim was incredibly happy in that moment and more sure of himself than he had ever imagined possible. Today was going to be a good day.

***

Jim was secretly impressed with himself. Things seemed to be going very well. There were no outbreaks of crazy, outside of the usual few, from his coworkers and he was actually able to make several sales before lunch.

When lunch finally did roll around he didn't fear the kitchen or the break room. He even had people to sit with, not feeling like an outcast as he had the other day. Ryan, Kelly, and Erin made for a pretty good ensemble of people.

Everyone was smiling, laughing. He could get used to this.

Ryan rested his head against Jim's shoulder, nuzzling slightly as he popped a grape into his mouth.

"Grapes? No way, that's not fair! I didn't see any grapes in your apartment this morning." Jim complained, playfully reaching for them.

"Actually, they are mine. He stole them from me. So, Erin agreed to share her strawberries with me." Kelly explained, giggling.

Ryan was the one smiling like a damn fool, and Jim was feeding off of his positive energy. 

"Happy to share them!" Erin shouted, as bubbly as could be. 

"You know, Jim, if you really wanted one, all you would have had to do was ask." Ryan said, holding a grape in front of Jim's mouth.

Jim leaned forward, taking both the grape and Ryan's fingers into his mouth, sucking on his fingers long after he had taken the time to carefully chew the grape around them. He swirled his tongue around, becoming acquainted with every single ridge and indent that made them uniquely Ryan's.

"The two of you are so cute together. I don't really listen to what other people say about you because I want to form my own opinions. And, I think that the two of you are the cutest. You are meant to be together." Erin commented out of the blue.

"I know, right?!" Kelly shouted in agreement, while also using it as an excuse to scoot closer to her.

Jim and Ryan looked at each other. "Thank you!" They replied in unison, not even a little bit intentional. Laughter followed, and that was followed by a sweet kiss shared by the pair.

"I'm going to call my mom and dad after work. Let's do this today." Jim whispered.

Ryan reached up to caress Jim's cheek. "Just tell me when and where,"

***

"Jim! Jim!" Betsy Halpert shouted across the unfortunately mostly empty restaurant that he had her and his father meet him in.

Jim waved her over to their semi private table, noticing that his father was only a few feet behind him. They quickly joined him at the table, sitting across from him, eyes drifting toward the second glass of water with the lemon wedge stuffed inside. Ryan had picked a really interesting time to head to the restroom.

"Is there someone else joining us?" His father asked while Jim was taking a sip of his own beverage.

"Yeah," Jim swallowed. "There is. They are in the bathroom, or taking a call, or something, I really don't know."

"Oh really? Could this be the cause of your recent breakup with Pam that you are referring to?" His mother asked next.

Gerald Halpert perked up. "He broke up with Pam!? Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Because I figured that was something that he would have wanted to tell you himself," His mother replied, hand on her husband's shoulder.

"You never do that," He scoffed. "You always tell me what is going on."

"It is funny that you should mention all of that, because that really relates to why I called you and had you meet me here. I have something to tell you." Jim explained in the most vague way possible.

Ryan approached the table, hands adjusting his narrow cut black tie, thick rimmed glasses surprisingly still on his face and not on top of his head. Jim's parents seemed to mostly be ignoring his presence.

"Did you get someone pregnant?" Betsy asked. "Some poor girl, and then poor Pam found out!"

Jim looked up at Ryan. "No, I did not get a girl pregnant,"

His father was now looking at Ryan who had yet to fully reach the table and sit down. "We'll take two waters, but then we are going to need a minute,"

"Um...I'll let the waitress know when I see her?" Ryan stumbled through his words as he sat down at the table, feeling incredibly awkward.

"Oh, okay," Gerald mumbled, staring at the young, thin man in front of him.

Jim cleared his throat. "Mom, Dad, this is Ryan Howard, we work together."

Ryan grabbed Jim's left hand under the table squeezing it tightly, just the right amount for reassurance.

"I see," Betsy said quietly, looking into Ryan's big, blue eyes for something, anything that would give away the reality of the situation.

Their waitress came, took their orders, and promptly left, leaving the four of them in an unbearable silence that was begging to be broken.

It continued, no one quite having the nerve to say what needed to be said, or anything at all, for that matter.

After about ten minutes Jim finally made a move. He let go of Ryan's hand and brought both of his hands together. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that it wouldn't be that bad since they were in a public place. This was the best opportunity to get it all out on the table, pun intended.

"I wanted you both to come today so I could tell you something really important, something I have battled with for years. I'm gay, and Ryan isn't just a coworker of mine, he is my boyfriend. Which brings me to my next topic, when I was little I used to hang around a little boy, also named Ryan. He's the same person." Jim let all of it out, and it felt amazing. "I'm in love with him. He completes me, makes me better."

Betsy's jaw dropped, but she was silent. She would have been a bit more shocked had she not secretly known about some of his past 'boyfriends' and the dildo he had when he was a freshman in high school. She had attributed it to experimentation in the past. She had been wrong, but it allowed her to be significantly calmer than her husband.

"Gay!? No son of mine is gay!" Gerald shouted, unable to control himself. "You aren't gay."

Jim nodded, wrapping an arm around Ryan's petite waist, pulling him in close. "I'm gay. There is nothing at all that you can do to change it. I love him, and even though we haven't been together for a long time, I intend on spending my life with him. He makes me happy, and looking back on our friendship as children it really seems like we are meant to be. And, I honestly don't care what anyone else's thoughts are on the matter. He's mine, I am his, end of story."

"I really do love your son, and I promise to take great care of him for as long as he will have me."

Gerald pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. "I should have known if any of my children were going to wind up being gay, it was going to be you. You were the one who held hands with other little boys, you were interested in drama, you hung around with more girls, even though I had hoped that it was because you were going to be a ladies man. Your grandmother had even asked if you were gay when you were a teenager."

"Do you hate me? Do you disown me? Are you okay with it? What is going on?" Jim asked, confused by his father's suddenly calm demeanor.  

"No. No. I am not going to continue to overreact. I am not going to be that kind of father. You are my son, I am going to love you and support you no matter what. I want you to be happy, and if being with this man is what is going to make you happy, then I will learn to accept it. It might take me a while, but I'd rather be apart of your life than alienate you and your significant other over something that is completely normal. I've seen the arguments: love is love. I'd prefer you were straight, it would save you trouble, but happiness is key, it is much more important. I am just glad that you were comfortable enough to tell us, instead of hiding it."

Betsy cut him off, stopping him from saying anything further. "Or worse, you would have stayed with a woman because you were worried how people would react."

Ryan turned towards Jim, Jim towards him and they pressed their foreheads together. It was far better than anyone could have predicted. 

"It is nice to meet you, Ryan, by the way, since we haven't really been properly introduced. My name is Gerald, I'm obviously Jim's father."

Ryan shook hands with Gerald, then with Betsy. "It is nice to meet both of you, and I hope that we know each other for a long, long time,"


End file.
